ABSTRACT
This chapter seeks to explore both the common traits and distinctive features of employment patterns and developments in human resource management in British and German local authorities. It discusses the state of modern local government and its workforce into its historical perspective in order to reveal long-term trends which may have an impact on present-day administrative developments. The chapter examines the size and composition of the local government service, which are closely tied to internal and external structural arrangements of the national local government systems, are considered. It aims to describe essential components of human resource management, paying particular attention to aspects of education and training as well as to the recruitment and career development of local government employees. The chapter attempts to draw the threads of the discussion together by raising the question of ‘convergence’ or ‘divergence’ of the two national systems.
